That oozes class.
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4k dollars in US. 4k in GB. 4,5 k in France. 5k was 2019 price in France.
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I went to have a browse at the hifi mall here in Singapore (yes, serious a mall mainly dedicated to high end hifi, called The Aldephi). Just tons of nice stuff there - penciled in some demoâs but here are initial thoughts:
Hegel H390: utterly modern design, Roon, MQA, decent DAC, 2 phono + 1 XLR input - which I consider perfect! for the last 10 years I have only used 1 for phono and recently 1 for DAC. 5 digital inputs. They have absolutely nailed it for the modern user needs - very little redundancy. Good build and a mono basic screen, which is as far as I would want to go - def no colour lcd for me. Dealer was also a Chord dealer and suggested the quality was equiv to Qutest but TT2 was an upgrade.
H590: As above, some additional inputs and powerâŚthe guy recommended the H390 at 1/2 the price.
Accuphase and Luxman: Just absolutely beautifully made, stunning. Very traditional though, loads in analogue inputs, not sure how I feel about analogue switches with sources such as âtunerâ , âcdâ and âtapeâ after seeing the programmable screen on the Hegel. But to be fair Naim is the same. Luxman had pure class A options. Accupahse had phono cards and DAC card options, but they donât seem overly rated by the dealer, even suggested I could stay with my Qutest.
McIntosh - wow those things are wild looking. Some good options, nice replaceable DAC modules but not sure I could deal with the looks.
Yamaha S3200 - not in stock but well rated. Same ilk as Accuphase and Luxman. Quite popular in Asia still - I know not in Europe.
If you live in Korea, there is the Silibatone Jl 109. Review on Ear Audio. Made in Korea. 10k in UK, but cheaper in Korea.
Highly rated.
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WellâŚdecision made and Hegel H390 now taking the place of the Supernait. Actually quite emotional moment moving away from Naim amplifiers after 20 years.
But the Hegel really does represent an updated view of all the reasons the SN1 worked so well for me and of course sounds absolutely fantastic.
Sound wise it does sound great, big and super controlled, not overly analytical (this is as positive comment) but fast, especially in the bass department,
DAC is up there with the Chord Qutest but has MQA as well, a nice bonus as I use Tidal as well as Qubuz. I have kept my Hicap and Stageline which work great, and can stay on the forum 
From a design side, few things in I really like about the Hegel.
- more focus on digital than analogue, I just need 1 analogue input in reality - phone stage.
- max volume control limiter (I have kids and encourage them to use the stereo, despite being 3&5)
- no software, it doesnât even try to have streamer software. 3rd party all the way. Roon for me.
- no wifi, no Bluetooth
- no fancy screen
- nice remote
It really does reflect the simplicity of the SN1 albeit with a few more tricks, but nowhere near as trick as a Nova.
Downside? Iâd say build, despite its insane weight the casing really isnât up there with the best like Naim (front panel is fine though).
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Great to make a decision, lots of happy musical enjoyment going forwards 
That looks really cool. Built like a tank. I can see it on one for that matter 
Very retro and very cool. I like it alot. And I bet it sounds fantastic which is what matters.
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Yes I had a nice listening session this afternoon, very happy where I am at right now. After the session, I power the Nagra down, which is not a problem at all.When powered up after days off, I do not notice any reduced performance from the get go either.
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